The Presidency: Letting Regan Be Regan

Letting Regan Be Regan

There is no precedent. A corporate star becomes Secretary of the Treasury and & then White House chief of staff, a descending curve by normal calculation. Don Regan is not normal. "At dinner parties I sit below the salt now," he says, a flash in his cunning eye. "There are a lot of interesting people there."

A few days ago, he went to give the President the morning briefing. When the door to the Oval Office closed, just two men were inside. The import of the change struck Regan, who replaced the triumvirate of Meese, Deaver, Baker: quartet to duet. "We'll...